M47 was long considered
the lost Messier object, but Burnham's claimed that "the
identification with NGC 2422 now seems definite" which probably
went a long way toward it's general acceptance. For many,
myself included, M47 is that cluster you pass over on your way to
M46. Brighter and more irregular than it's neighbor M46,
this is nonetheless a nice cluster. Larger telescope users may
be tempted to skip M47 because it is so large and bright, but Walter
Scott Houston wrote of M47 that "a coarse scattering of bright
stars lies on a dim sheen of fainter ones, so a 10-inch is really
needed to enjoy its splendor fully."
Burnham's points out
the easy double star Struve 1121 (HD 60855) near the center of
cluster. This 5.7+9.5 magnitude pair is separated by
19.6". The brighter star has a closer, 12th magnitude
companion 5" distant.
I was struck by how
colorless this cluster appears at the eyepiece. There are no
obvious red or blue stars. Rather, all of the stars appear as
a uniform, blue-gray. I also felt that M47 bears a great
resemblance to M50.

The field in an 6-inch f/8 at
50x. North is down and east is to the right.
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